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Joe McKnight case has parallels with 2013 Kenner killing where shooter was arrested

Updated on December 6, 2016 at 9:09 AMPosted on December 5, 2016 at 5:40 PM

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Roger Batiste, 75, of LaPlace, accepted a plea agreement that landed him a five-year prison sentence for negligent homicide in 2015. He shot Shane Vicknair, 22, of River Ridge, during a vehicle-involved argument in Kenner on May 3, 2013.
(Kenner Police Department)

With Joe McKnight's admitted shooter still not in custody four days after the football standout was slain in Terrytown, critics of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand's decision not to arrest 54-year-old Ronald Gasser are pointing to a similar case in Kenner in 2013 that landed that shooter in jail almost immediately.

Critics say that's different treatment than the way Kenner Police handled the 2013 case of Roger Batiste, who was booked with second-degree murder after he shot a man from inside his vehicle. Like Gasser, who authorities indicate may claim self-defense, Batiste said he was protecting himself.

Louisiana's stand-your-ground law, which has been in effect since 2006, could be in play in Gasser's case. But critics are arguing authorities are not handling Gasser as they have other similar cases in the past, including Batiste's, which also took place with stand-your-ground in effect.

In the May 2013 incident, Batiste, a LaPlace resident, turned himself in to Kenner Police after he shot 27-year-old Shane Vicknair from inside his pickup truck outside an auto shop in Kenner. Batiste, 75 at the time, told police he had shot Vicknair in self-defense during an argument.

According to police and Batiste's arrest warrant, Batiste said he was in his pickup truck, stuck behind another truck driven by Vicknair in the 4200 block of Connecticut Drive around 10 a.m. on May 4, 2013. After waiting five minutes while Vicknair talked to a friend, Batiste said he asked Vicknair to move.

Incensed, Vicknair exited his truck and approached Batiste's pickup, cursing and calling him "racial names," Batiste, who is black, told police. Vicknair then started hitting Batiste inside his pickup, according to a statement Batiste made to police. Batiste told investigators he flashed a gun to convince Vicknair to stop, but he kept on punching and Batiste opened fire.

Vicknair suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and died. Authorities found surveillance video that showed Vicknair "aggressively" approaching the driver's side window of Batiste's truck during the altercation, according to the arrest warrant.

Batiste fled the scene, but hours later surrendered to Kenner police with his lawyer. Unlike Gasser, Batiste was arrested immediately and charged with one count of second-degree murder. He claimed self-defense, and agreed to a plea deal in 2015 that carried a five-year prison sentence for negligent homicide.

Gasser, who shot McKnight, 27, also in Jefferson Parish, was released that same evening after being questioned by JPSO. Days later, no charges have been filed.

Normand indicated during a press conference last week that the probe of McKnight's shooter includes consideration of Louisiana's stand-your-ground law. The law says a person does not have "a duty to retreat" when the prospect of life-threatening or great bodily harm appears imminent.

"In this state, there are relative statutes that provide defenses to certain crimes," Normand said last week. "For example, officers have those same defenses. So when we shoot and kill somebody, the question is...it's a homicide. The question is, Is it justified or not?"

Michelle Charles, an attorney for the West Jefferson Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that her organization is aware of the similarities between Gasser's and Batiste's cases and that "we are hoping that the sheriff's office will address the differences in the cases."

"We want balance," Charles said. "If you're going to do it for one person, you have to do it for another."

The NAACP and others have also pointed to the case of Cardell Hayes, who was arrested by New Orleans police and charged with second-degree murder after fatally shooting former Saints star Will Smith in an April road rage incident. Critics have pointed to the fact that Gasser is white and Hayes is black, suggesting different treatment from law enforcement because of their race -- something Normand has rejected. Batiste, who was arrested after the Kenner shooting, is also black.

Ronald Gasser, who authorities say killed Joe McKnight, is seen sitting on the ground at the scene where he shot the ex-NFL player in Terrytown on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016. (Handout photo)Manuel Torres, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.

On Monday, the local NAACP chapter held a press conference outside the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office headquarters to call for justice and transparency in the investigation into McKnight's death.

"We will not go away until this case has been resolved justly and fairly," said Gaylor Spiller, president of the NAACP's West Jefferson Parish branch. She asked to meet with Normand to discuss the case, saying there are "too many unanswered questions" which lead to "a whole lot of misunderstanding, misinterpretation."

Tulane University associate professor and defense attorney Nandi Campbell said Monday that cases involving self-defense -- as with Hayes, Batiste and, likely, Gasser -- normally result in an immediate arrest on grounds simply that a homicide occurred. The sheriff's office, she said, ought to be investigating McKnight's death as a homicide currently.

"It's a homicide by definition. It's a killing of one person by another," she said.

Campbell said Batiste's arrest "seems to be the norm in these jurisdictions," as opposed to Gasser's release. Further, arresting someone for a fatal shooting and compelling that person to post bond just makes sense, Campbell said, since doing so prevents that person from fleeing or continuing to carry a weapon.

Ultimately, the question as to why Gasser was released can only be answered by Sheriff Normand, Cambell said. That question, she believes, was not answered sufficiently during Normand's press conference Friday.

"The notion that he could not facilitate an arrest in the Gasser case is hard to believe," Campbell said. "He made a decision not to arrest. It's not that he didn't have enough information for an arrest. To have a man questioned and just released seems to be against what the normal procedure is for most law enforcement officers."

Although Batiste was arrested by Kenner Police and Gasser is being investigated by JPSO, Campbell notes that "the way Batiste's case was handled seems to be the norm in these jurisdictions. Gasser doesn't fit into the norm of how these cases are handled."

Louisiana State University associate law professor Ken Levy said a lack of arrest in Gasser's case suggests the stand-your-ground law is likely in play. Levy pointed to stand-your-ground's stipulation on "retreat" -- which states a person who feels great bodily harm or loss of life is imminent is not legally compelled to retreat from a fight before responding with force -- as a possible factor preventing Normand from making an arrest.

"This is somewhat a product of stand-your-ground law," Levy said. "If state law said we had a duty to retreat, then I think they would've had stronger grounds to arrest Gasser."

Since McKnight's killing, supporters of the former John Curtis Christian High School star and University of Southern California running back have condemned Normand's decision to release Gasser. Likewise, they have cast an eye toward stand-your-ground law, which a handful of lawmakers see as ripe for a change.

"You can believe that we will be going back to the Capitol to work on legislation to make it clear (that) when people commit these crimes, they cannot hide behind laws that were intended to do one thing, and are used to disguise what appears to be (murder)," said state Sen. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, speaking at a vigil held by McKnight's family, friends, teammates and supporters Saturday night in Kenner. Carter was echoed in his commitment by state Rep. Rodney Lyons, D-Harvey.

"When we get back to the Legislature, we've got to find a way to look at these laws," Lyons said. "As we move forward, stand strong. Remember Joe, and remember his family."